The Canadian Cross Country Championships took place in Kingston, Ontario this past Saturday, November 28th. This year 9 New Brunswick athletes made the trip to Ontario to prove themselves by competing among the best in the country. Junior and senior athletes to be awarded a spot on Team Canada for the NACAC XC Championships.

In the Junior Girl’s Race, Laura Dickinson of Miramichi, competing for ASEA finished with a time of 23:15.9 which allowed her to finish 44th. Dickinson was running the 6km race as a first year youth athlete and will be looking ahead to come back even stronger to next year’s championships.

Angus MacIntosh and Ryan Terry who compete for ASEA competed in the Junior Men’s 8km race placing 43rd and 116th, respectively. MacIntosh finished with a time of 26:34.1 while Terry came in at 33:18.1. Also competing in the Junior Men’s race was ANB’s Youth Male Athlete of the Year, Brady Graves from the SJTC. Graves finished in 26:59.3 to place 54th overall. To round out the junior men, Michael Colford and teammate Michael Butler who compete for FFFT, finished 84th and 113th, respectively.

In the Senior Men’s Race, Ryan Cassidy of Grande-Digue continued his excellent form in National Championships with another top 10 performance, placing 7th with a time of 30:18.1. This 7th place finish will make Cassidy eligible to be named to Team Canada for the NACAC Cross Country Championships in Venezuela next March! Matt McNeil of Saint John finished with a time of 31:22.6 which earned him 27th place overall. Joining Cassidy and McNeil in the Senior Men’s Race was Grant Handrigan of Moncton who finished 80th with a time of 33:02.5.

“Once again our New Brunswick athletes continue to perform at the national level” said Gabriel Leblanc, Technical Director of Athletics New Brunswick. “To have Cassidy finish in the top 10 for the second year in a row is simply incredible – not to mention that our total number of athletes competing at the National XC Championships is the highest in the past 10 years” added LeBlanc.

Marc Lalonde, President of Athletics NB, added “We are extremely proud of all of our athletes’ performances this year in Kingston. Having one of our athletes possibly qualify for Team Canada and the NACAC Cross Country Championships is very encouraging for the sport here in New Brunswick.”

Nov 29 2015 - 16th Annual Gagetown Indoor Meet Recap

The 16th Annual Gagetown Indoor Meet took place this past Saturday in Oromocto, NB. There were over 150 athletes who came out to compete at Base Gagetown, one of the province’s best facilities. This event marks the beginning of the indoor track and field season – and with 7 provincial records set, the season is already off to a great start!

On the Women’s Side:

- Wheelchair racer Veronica Coombes continued to impress as she competed in the 600m race. She finished with a new provincial record of 1:57.75, beating her previous record of 1:58.46 set earlier this year (1:58.46).

On the Men’s Side:

- Andrew LeBlanc (FFFT) broke the youth male 600m record with a time of 1:23.66, and as a youth time it is not far off the junior record of 1:22.32.

- Jon Gionet (FLTC) of Bathurst threw for an excellent distance of 14.86m in senior male shot put, just edging out the previous record of 14.85m, Interesting the previous record was done by Travis Washburn in 1994 or the year of birth of Gionet!

- Master’s Athlete Ross Belyea of Carleton-York, had an excellent showing in the 200m, running a time of 33.3s which set a new provincial record in the masters men’s 65-70 age group!

- Mickyle Welsh (ASEA) of Riverview broke the existing midget male 60m sprint record with a time of 7.36, beating the previous record of 7.48 held by Welsh himself, and Eric Rioux.

- Bruce Rosvall (SJTC) of Rothesay also improved upon his former master men’s 50-54 300m record of 43.12 with a new best of 41.71.

- Robert Jackson of Fredericton set the new record for the master men’s 60-65 1000m with a time of 3:03.78.

“This was an excellent showing by all of the athletes who came to compete this weekend,” said Gabriel LeBlanc, Technical Director of Athletics New Brunswick. “The Gagetown Meet is always an excellent event, and once again this year the athletes set the bar high for the remainder of the season with several record setting results.”

The last indoor track meet in New Brunswick for the 2015 year, hosted by ASEA, is set to take place in Moncton on December 19th. There are sure to be several athletes both eager to set/break even more provincial records as many athletes will be moving up age classes on January 1st, 2016.

Athletics New Brunswick is pleased to announce its 2015 award recipients. The ANB Awards Banquet Is held annually as a way to recognize the tremendous accomplishments and contributions of our athletes, coaches, officials and volunteers in athletics.

The 2015 Canadian Cross Country Championships are set for this Saturday, November 28th, in beautiful Kingston, Ontario. New Brunswick will be very well represented by Once again, New Brunswick is going to be very well represented at this event by 9 talented athletes.

On the women's side:

Laura Dickinson, a first year youth athlete hailing from Miramichi (ASEA) will be competing in the junior women’s 6km race. Dickinson has already proved herself as one of the best in the nation, winning gold in the 3000m at the Canadian Indoor Championships earlier this year, bronze in the 2000m steeplechase at Legions, also earlier this year, and breaking provincial records in the steeplechase events as well as the 2000m (indoor), 3000m (indoor) and 10km (road).

On the men's side:

New Brunswick will once again have two of their elite athletes in the Men’s Senior 10km race in Ryan Cassidy and Matt McNeil. Cassidy, from Grande-Digue, recently placed 5th overall in the 10km race at the 2015 CIS XC Championships, helping the University of Victoria capture the CIS National Championship. Matt McNeil of Saint John, who runs for Dalhousie University, finished 7th overall, up from his 12th place finish last year, in a time of 30:39. Also joining McNeil and Cassidy in the senior men’s category is Grant Handrigan of Moncton.

At least years National Championships in Vancouver, Cassidy placed 4th and qualified to be on Team Canada for the NACAC Cross Country Championships.

This year both Cassidy and McNeil will try to qualify for the NACAC Cross Country Championships. The NACAC will take place in Vargas, Venezuela in early March 2016.

In addition to the senior men, there are also 5 junior men competing in the 8km race in Kingston including Angus MacIntosh and Ryan Terry from ASEA. Brady Graves, running with the SJTC, who was nominated this year for ANB Male Youth Athlete of the Year will also be competing. Joining these three athletes will be Michael Colford and Matthew Butler, both running with FFFT.

“New Brunswick is sending some strong athletes to compete in Kingston this year” said Gabriel LeBlanc, Technical director of Athletics New Brunswick. “Both McNeil and Cassidy have really impressed so far this year and a finish for both of them in the top 10 is very possible which would put them in a position to be named to the National Team” added LeBlanc

The races set to take place in Kingston, Ontario will see over 900 athletes from across the country gather to compete.

This Saturday (November 28th, 2015) marks the 16th annual Gagetown Track & Field Meet. This will be the first indoor track competition of the season in New Brunswick. Over 150 athletes from around the province will be competing at this event.

Universities will be well represented by competing athletes from the University of New Brunswick, St. Thomas University as well as l’Université de Moncton.

“The Gagetown Meet is an excellent event that kicks-off the beginning of the indoor season in NB” said Gabriel LeBlanc, Technical Director of Athletics New Brunswick. “Athletes are always eager to compete and hungry to break provincial records and impress early in the season. We are fortunate to have such a facility along with great turnouts year after year” added LeBlanc.

The meet will commence at 10:00am at CFB Gagetown in Oromocto, NB. There are multiple events taking place, including running, jumping and throwing for all age groups. The last events for the day will wrap up around 3pm. In previous years there have been athletes as young as 6 years old, all the way up to 86 competing at one of Canada’s best indoor facilities. Collectively there has been over 3000 athletes who have competed at this event over the last 14 years.

Following the event, ANB will host its annual Awards Gala where athletes, coaches, officials and volunteers will be awarded for their excellence over the past year.

Nov 24 2015 - ANB membership! Win a pair of Shoes!

Don't forget to Renew your ANB membership!

ANB memberships expire on December 31st ! As you know, membership is required to participate in any of our Championships events, and to be eligible for Rankings, Records, Teams, funding, awards, and many other great opportunities!

In addition we will be drawing for a FREE pair of shoes if you renew your membership before December 15th.

Nov 18 2015 - RJTW Workshop a huge sucess

This past weekend ANBThis past weekend ANB hosted a Run Jump Throw Wheel (RJTW) Instructor Training Workshop on November 14th at U de M. Ueli Albert, the RJTW Coordinator for Nova Scotia facilitated the one day workshop for 19 participants.

The RJTW Workshop used a fun and active learning environment to enable participants to teach, assess and correct fundamental movement skills to children between the ages of 6-12 with basic lesson plans and fun, interactive games. The Workshop consisted of both in-class and active modules to empower participants to teach fundamental movement skills using track & field inspired activities.

There was a wide range of participants at the training workshop this weekend including student athletes, physical education teachers, professors and recreation professionals. It was an outstanding group of instructors who were all eager to learn and get out in their community and implement the RJTW program.

If you are interested in attending a RJTW Instructor Workshop or learning more about the program, please contact alex.holder@anb.ca

If you are interested in attending a RJTW Instructor Workshop or learning more about the program, please contact alex.holder@anb.cahosted a Run Jump Throw Wheel (RJTW) Instructor Training Workshop on
November 14th at U de M. Ueli Albert, the RJTW Coordinator for Nova Scotia facilitated the one day
workshop for 19 participants.
The RJTW Workshop used a fun and active learning environment to enable participants to teach, assess
and correct fundamental movement skills to children between the ages of 6-12 with basic lesson plans
and fun, interactive games. The Workshop consisted of both in-class and active modules to empower
participants to teach fundamental movement skills using track & field inspired activities.
There was a wide range of participants at the training workshop this weekend including student
athletes, physical education teachers, professors and recreation professionals. It was an outstanding
group of instructors who were all eager to learn and get out in their community and implement the
RJTW program.
If you are interested in attending a RJTW Instructor Workshop or learning more about the program,
please contact alex.holder@anb.ca

Nov 17 2015 - Jacob LeBlanc off to National Development Camp

Despite only being 13 years old, Jacob LeBlanc of Moncton is already one of the fastest wheelchair racers in Canada.His performances have not gone unnoticed as this weekend he will take part in an Athletics Canada’s Para Development camp. This camp will feature some of the best coaches in the world including Peter Erikson, Head coach of Athletics Canada. Also providing guidance and expertise will be 5 time Paralympian and winner of 21 Paralympic medals Chantal Peticlerc.

From November 20th to 22nd he and coach Gabriel LeBlanc will travel to Guelph, Ontario which brings together the best of the ‘stars of the future’ from across Canada. Jacob is the only representative of the Atlantic Provinces.

"This camp should help Jacob achieve is goals and bring him closer to the next level", said Gabriel LeBlanc. ‘’ Jacob is a very talented athlete and could be a force to reckoned within Canada the next few years’’ added LeBlanc

This year’s Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Cross Country Championships were held this past Saturday in Guelph, Ontario. New Brunswick was very well represented once again this year by 11 athletes who competed on the University of Guelph’s home course.

Ryan Cassidy of Grand Digue, running for the University of Victoria, finished 5th overall by running 30:30 for the 10km course, improving on his 7th place finish in 2014. This result helped the Vikes win the CIS national championship, edging out the Guelph men to end their 9 year team title streak. Ryan was also awarded the prestigious 2015 Student-Athlete Community Service Award.

Matt McNeil of Saint John, who runs for Dalhousie University, finished 7th overall, up from his 12th place finish last year, in a time of 30:39. In doing so, McNeil was named to the first team All-Canadian.

With these results, both Matt and Ryan could be named to the Canadian FISU team going to compete in Cassino, Italy, on March 12th 2016.

Other New Brunswick results:

Women’s 6km Event:

-Running for Dalhousie Univeristy Morgan Hawkes of Fredericton finished 108th in a time of 23:33

· L’Université de Moncton runner Kamylle Frenette placed 114th with a time of 23:39, coming in just ahead of teammate Carol-Ann MacDonald who placed 115th in 23:44.

· Also running for U de M, Anouk Pelletier of Petit Rocher finished 126th in 24:10.

Men’s 10km Event:

· St. FX runner Lee Wesselius of River Glade came in 58th in 32:05 and was the fourth runner on his team. The St. FX team placed 9th overall this year.

· L’Université de Moncton runner Jérémie Pellerin of Cocagne placed 109th with a time of 33:35. His teammates Bryan Thomas of Bathurst came in 142nd with a time of 35:42 while Rémi Poitras of St Basil came in just afterwards in 147th in 36:12.

· Angus Macintosh of Riverview, running for Dalhousie University, placed 122nd with a time of 33:59.

“Matt’s and Ryan’s results are simply incredible! To have two All-Canadians from New Brunswick proves that our development programs are strong,” said Gabriel LeBlanc, technical director of Athletics New Brunswick.

Nov 11 2015 - Several New Brunswick athletes set to run at CIS Cross Country Championships

The Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Cross Country Championships are set to take place this Saturday, November 14th in Guelph Ontario. A total of 10 New Brunswick athletes will be making the trip to compete against the best university distance runners in Canada

One the women's side:

L’Université de Moncton will have 3 runners with Carol-Ann MacDonald of Irishtown, Kamylle Frenette of Dieppe and Anouk Pelletier of Petit Rocher.

On the men's side:

Ryan Cassidy of Grand Digue running for the University of Victoria will be aiming for a medal position after placing 7th at last year’s CIS Championships .

Matt McNeil of Saint John will wear the colors of Dalhousie University. He is undefeated this years winning major races in Guelph and the AUS Championships 2 weeks ago. At last year’s championships he finished 12th

Angus Macintosh Riverview who also runs for Dalhousie University will also compete after finishing 12th at the recent AUS Championships.

Lee Wesselius of River Glade will run for St. FX University. Wesselius placed 5th at the latest AUS Championships.

L’Université de Moncton will be led by veteran Jérémie Pellerin of Cocagne he will be joined by teammates Rémi Poitras of St Basile and Bryan Thomas of Bathurst.

“The CIS Cross-Country championships is one of the most competitive races in Canada. The depth and difficulty in competition is huge and for New Brunswick to have 10 athletes competing in 2015 shows our competitiveness at the national level. We wish all of our athletes the best of luck,’’ said Gabriel LeBlanc technical director of Athletics New Brunswick

Athletics New Brunswick and the 2017 Canada Games program is excited to announce that the 2017 Women in Coaching Canada Games Apprenticeship Program (WIC) for the 2017 Canada Summer Games has officially been launched. This program has proven successful in the development and training of female coaches since its introduction in 2005.

Athletics New Brunswick is encouraging those female coaches who are interested to fill out the CAC intake form by December 5th, 2015.

In order to maximize athlete development programming in the province of New Brunswick the provincial association is working towards integrating the Podium and High Performance programs into a new framework to roll out in the spring of 2016. While full details of this program are yet to be finalized the integration of the programs should allow for greater transparency of athlete development within the Athletics New Brunswick performance pathway.

In conclusion, the Podium Program and High Performance Program from this point forward will cease to exist under the current framework. The staff of ANB and the board of directors are very proud of the role that these programs have played but have full confidence that their conclusion and focus now be put on future programming which will have a greater long term impact on the development of athletes in New Brunswick.

Also note that ANB will not be organizing a warm weather (Florida) camp in 2016 .

Sport New Brunswick announced this morning the names of the finalists for the annual Konica Minolta Sport Awards, and once again Athletics New Brunswick members are very well represented! In fact, Athletics has the most nominations of any sport in New Brunswick with 7!

In the Comfort Inn Female Athlete of the Year category, distance runner Geneviève Lalonde (Moncton) is one of the finalists following her bronze medal performance at the Pan Am Games in the 3000m steeplechase. ANB is represented by 2 athletes in the Comfort Inn Male Athlete of the Year award with national champion javelin thrower Caleb Jones from Saint John and para distance runner Shayne Dobson of Campbellton, who recently finished 4th at the IPC World Championships.

The NB midget boys Legion relay team (Mickyle Welsh of Riverview, Cole Healey and Kenneth McGovern of Saint John, and Guillaume Savoie of Neguac) is up for BrunNet Team of the Year award after their incredible 2 medal performance at the Legion Nationals. Wheelchair racer Veronica Coombes (Shediac Cape) is nominated for 2 awards including the Spirit of Sport award for her incredible determination overcoming kidney failure to return to competition. She is also nominated in the Female President’s award for her outstanding 3 medal performance at the IWAS World Juniors Championships.

Peter Stuart of Riverview is one of the finalists for the Boston Pizza Male Coach of the Year! Also, our good friend Alain Ménard of Radio Canada will receive the award for Outstanding Media Coverage! Other notable nominees in the Corporate Award include ANB member Paul Gautier (Aberdeen Motors) and our Sponsor for the Run NB youth events the NB Medical Society.

“Every year, the selection committee has a difficult job in narrowing the field of nominees to our finalists; there are a number of deserving nominations each year,” said Darcy McKillop, Chief Executive Officer of Sport NB. “Among our finalists we have athletes, coaches, officials and volunteers who have been involved at all levels of sport, from grassroots to international competitions.” The Konica Minolta Sport Awards recognize the accomplishments of New Brunswick’s top athletes, teams, coaches, officials, and volunteers in amateur sport over the past year. “Over the past year, each of these finalists has done New Brunswick very proud,” said McKillop. “These are the types of people who inspire others to be great, and help see the value in sport participation. New Brunswickers can be very proud of these individuals.”

Nominations were submitted by the Provincial Sport Organizations. Finalists were selected based on their achievements from October 1st 2013-October 1st 2014.

Nov 2 2015 - Finalists for ANB awards 2015

Athletics New Brunswick is very pleased to announce the finalists for the annual awards. The awards will be handed out at the 2015 ANB Awards Gala, being held on November 28th at Base Gagetown in Oromocto.

In addition, Coach of the Year award (Peter Stuart ASEA Riverview), the Harold Nicholson Volunteer of the Year award (Bill MacMackin SJTC Quispamsis) and ANB Official of the Year award (Mark Sheehan New Maryland) will be handed out at the Gala.

‘’These athletes represent the very best in our province and they should be very proud of their accomplishments ‘’ said Marc Lalonde, President of Athletics New Brunswick. ’’ Our selection committee will not have an easy task determining the winners among these very worthy finalists", added Lalonde

Tickets for the Gala are $20 and must be purchased online at www.anb.ca/gala2015 on or before November 20th. Please note that tickets will not be available after this date and tickets are limited so please register soon to avoid disappointment.